China retail May 2025: Sales up 16.4%, Geely up 74.1%, places Xingyuan #1 YTD

The Geely Xingyuan is now #1 year-to-date in China.

Today we can share with you today All brands and All models retail sales data for China in May. Sales of the selection of vehicles included in this report shoot up 16.4% year-on-year this month to 1,834,544 units. This means the year-to-date tally is now up 9.7% to 8,410,890. to 7,669,850. BSCB is the only non-Chinese medium to cover both wholesales (ex-factory shipments) and retail sales data for China so you can get the most complete picture of the largest new car market in the world. Retail sales tend to give a more authentic picture of the market as they roughly correspond to registrations by end-customers and are more difficult to artificially boost with exports which can sometimes be the case for wholesales data.

BYD (+10.4%) once again confirm it may have hit peak market shares, advancing lower than the market but still sporting a double-digit gain. A lot of its models sink: the Destroyer 05 (-91.1%), Yuan Plus (-51.2%), Tang (-50.8%), Qin Plus (-36.2%), Song Pro (-34.9%) and Song Plus (-31.3%) all struggle. On the other hand the Song L (+332.4%) and Dolphin (+27.4%) stun. It’s the flow of successful new models that keep the brand in positive: the Qin L (24,810), Seal 06 (20,593), Sealion 05 (14,657), Yuan Up (11,867), Seal 05 (7,519), Tang L (6,745) and Han L (4,694) do particularly well. Unlike in the wholesales ranking, Volkswagen (+11.5%) clings to 2nd place and posts a relatively solid result. The Tharu (+107.6%), Magotan (+36.8%), T-Roc (+34.8%), Tayron (+24.2%) and Sagitar (+14.3%) make themselves noticed.

Fang Cheng Bao sells a record 12,021 units in May.

Geely (+74.1%) sports by far the biggest gain near the top of the ranking. It is helped by the new Xingyuan (38,608 sales), the Galaxy New Energy sub-brand (+122.4%), the Binyue (+71.2%), Xingyue L (+22.1%) and Panda mini (+19.8%). Toyota (+7.2%), Wuling (+24.9%) and Changan (+34.9%) complete a Top 6 unchanged on last month and YTD with Chery (+20.8%) also impressive. At #10, Li Auto (+111.9%) scores its third ever Top 10 finish after July and October 2024. Tesla (-29.9%), Mercedes (-21.9%), Honda (-21.8%), Nissan (-20.2%), BMW (-11.7%) and Audi (-6.1%) confirm mediocre performances by foreign manufacturers, with only Buick (+30.2%) managing a solid result. In contrast, Xiaomi (+235.5%), Xpeng (+199.7%), Leapmotor (+168.1%), Deepal (+96.6), Haval (+55.9%), AITO (+39.9%) and Jetour (+35.7%) all surge. Fang Cheng Bao (#33) tops recent brand launches (<12 months) above Onvo (#46), Firefly (#58) and Stelato (#61). We welcome Hedmos at #95, Maextro at #115 and Junchi at #123.

Over in the models charts, the new Geely Xingyuan repeats at #1 with almost 8,000 units more than the #2, the BYD Qin Plus (-36.2%). As a result the Xingyuan snaps the YTD pole position wth over 155,000 units sold in 5 months. BYD also places the Seagull (-5.9%) at #3 ahead of the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (+80.1%). The Xiaomi SU7 (+207.2%) repeats at #5 with more than 25,000 sales, to which must be added 2,364 SU7 Ultra, counted separately. The Tesla Model Y (-37.4%) is in trouble at #6 and ranks only #5 year-to-date vs. #2 over the Full Year 2024. It is still the #1 foreign model above the VW Lavida (+5.2%) at #8 and the Nissan Sylphy (-22.2%) at #9. Another excellent month for the new BYD Qin L at #7, while the new BYD Seal 06 (#11) and Li L6 (#13) also shine.

Previous month: China retail April 2025: Market up 14.5%, BYD plateaus, Geely Xingyuan ascends to #1

One year ago: China retail May 2024: Market off -6.7%, NIO and Zeekr at record levels, Toyota Front Lander in Top 10

Full May 2025 Top 128 All brands and Top 738 All models below.